More violence in Bolivia after referendum
Posted: September 05, 2008
by: Rick Kearns / Indian Country Today
LA PAZ, Bolivia - In the three weeks after the contentious national referendum vote, anti-government forces from Bolivia's half-moon region staged a series of protest actions including: attacks against Cuban doctors treating poor communities; strikes; and massive road blockades.
Pro-government forces also clashed with the opposition groups in Santa Cruz and one contingent closed roads surrounding Sucre, the capital city of Chuquisaca.
In the midst of the war of words and physical attacks, Bolivian President Evo Morales also issued a decree to hold another national referendum vote for acceptance or rejection of the new Constitution already voted on by the National Constituent Assembly.
This new referendum, which also included provisions for elections of regional positions, was scheduled for Dec. 7 of this year, one year after the controversial drafting of the proposed Constitution. Bolivia's National Electoral Court however, ruled the decree unconstitutional and advised the President that the Congress would need to pass a law allowing the referendums.
The post-referendum turbulence transpired after efforts at dialogue failed, despite international support for the talks. In various press statements, The Organization for American States (OAS), the United Nations, and several diplomatic delegations from various countries urged settlement to no avail. On the day of the referendum vote however, violent actions already started to flare in the opposition city of San Ignacio in the Santa Cruz region.
According to human rights observers from Santa Cruz, on Aug. 10 members of the San Ignacio Civic Committee and the Santa Cruz Youth Union broke into the residence of a group of Cuban doctors who were in the area providing free medical care to low-income patients. The doctors were met at their residence by the two committees, beaten, forced onto a truck, driven approx 10 km from San Ignacio, and then left there after the committee members threatened to kill the doctors if they didn't leave the area.
Afterwards, doctors were relocated to an undisclosed location for their safety. The Santa Cruz Human Rights Coordinator (SCHRC) has petitioned the region's district attorney to investigate the charges. (As of press time, no charges have been filed.) SCHRC also claimed that the Santa Cruz Youth Union, armed with clubs, baseball bats and other weapons, were patrolling the streets of the city in the days that followed, supposedly looking for pro-MAS citizens and indigenous people in general.
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